Asymptotic stability of spatial homogeneity in a haptotxis model for oncolytic virotherapy

Abstract

This work considers a model for oncolytic virotherapy, as given by the reaction-diffusion-taxis system $$ \left\{ \begin{array}{l} u_t = \Delta u - \nabla \cdot (u\nabla v)-\rho uz, \\[1mm] v_t = - (u+w)v, \\[1mm] w_t = D_w \Delta w - w + uz, \\[1mm] z_t = D_z \Delta z - z - uz + \beta w, \end{array} \right. $$ in a smoothly bounded domain $\Omega\subset\mathbb{R}^2$, with parameters $D_w>0, D_z>0, \beta>0$ and $\rho\ge 0$.\\ % Previous analysis has asserted that for all reasonably regular initial data, an associated no-flux type initial-boundary value problem admits a global classical solution, and that this solution is bounded if $\beta<1$, whereas whenever $\beta>1$ and $\frac{1}{|\Omega|}\int_{\Omega} u(\cdot,0)>\frac{1}{\beta-1}$, infinite-time blow-up occurs at least in the particular case when $\rho=0$.\abs % In order to provide an appropriate complement to this, the present work reveals that for any $\rho\ge 0$ and arbitrary $\beta>0$, at each prescribed level $\gamma\in (0,\frac{1}{(\beta-1)_+})$ one can identify an $L^\infty$-neighborhood of the homogeneous distribution $(u,v,w,z)\equiv (\gamma,0,0,0)$ within which all initial data lead to globally bounded solutions that stabilize toward the constant equilibrium $(u_\infty,0,0,0)$ with some $u_\infty>0$.